Star Seekers and Higgs Hunters

Ever wondered what those specks of light in the sky really are? Or how all the elements on Earth came about?

This year, our CSG research team are joining scientists from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) to produce a fully classified catalogue of stars and help identify potential targets for the James Webb Telescope to focus on when it is launched by NASA in 2021.

Our Star Seekers will be analysing data collected by the Spitzer Space Telescope to determine whether the objects observed are stars forming, normal stars, supernovae or nebulae and we will be looking through the dust of space to find out more about how our Universe was created.

This project is open to any student in Year 10-13. Interested in learning more? Come along to the launch on Monday 1 October at 3:30 pm in room 312 (more details on your science google classrooms).

Last year’s research team, the ‘Higgs Hunters’, analysed data collected by the ATLAS detector of the large hadron collider at CERN as part of a collaborative research project with Oxford University. Their research was selected as some of the best in the country and as a result, they were invited to present at 3 conferences throughout the year, including a residential conference at Oxford University in June.

The video for this is now live on the Institute for Research’s YouTube Channel here.